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22 year old in college with a million dollar business. Ask me anything!

Guest304

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Why I'm the world would I want to steal his product? I'm in the lighting industry. If it's a good product I assume it's patented. If it's not, then that answer would suffice. Hey I don't wanna tell you because it's not patented it. Everyone's awfully uppety about a question.

Maybe it's past experience with members on the forum and it's warranted I don't know? I'm genuinely curious in what the guy is selling. If he can't answer he can't answer.

But... I suppose it's more fun for everyone to pile on.
 
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Vigilante

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Why I'm the world would I want to steal his product? I'm in the lighting industry. If it's a good product I assume it's patented. If it's not, then that answer would suffice. Hey I don't wanna tell you because it's not patented. Everyone's awfully uppety about a question.

Maybe it's past experience with members on the forum and it's warranted I don't know? I'm genuinely curious in what the guy is selling. If he can't answer he can't answer.

But... I suppose it's more fun for everyone to pile on.

You don't get the process unless you have a million dollar Amazon business, which you don't.

Back on track. Please spend some time getting to know the place, and you will understand why we don't press people about the business beyond what they feel like disclosing. The more you hang out here, the more you will find and discover!

We're not going to address this further in this thread, so let the thread get back on it's positive momentum. You might enjoy reading this thread:
IMPORTANT! - Why All The Secrecy? Here's Why...

but we're not going to discuss it further here. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

MJ DeMarco

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Guest304

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Lemme guess... delete your account?
Can't private message vigilante to work it out, and honestly I don't want to stay on a forum that people flame you for asking a simple question. The title is Ask me anything. Simple as that. I think the content I've contributed thus far was pretty decent. Maybe not the best.

I'm genuinely curious in the guy's product. Creative innovative ideas fascinate me. A simple hey I don't want to disclose that info because I don't want it stolen would suffice.
 
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MJ DeMarco

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Can't private message vigilante to work it out, and honestly I don't want to stay on a forum that people flame you for asking a simple question. The title is Ask me anything. Simple as that. I think the content I've contributed thus far was pretty decent. Maybe not the best.

I'm genuinely curious in the guy's product. Creative innovative ideas fascinate me. A simple hey I don't want to disclose that info because I don't want it stolen would suffice.

If you get butt-hurt this easily, you won't have a prayer as an entrepreneur.
 

G-Man

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MJ DeMarco

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I'm doing fine thanks.

The "delete my account" says otherwise.

I don't need to know the process. I get the process.

I seem to have missed the thread disclosing your multi-million dollar+ business, complete with the product you sell.

All uppity over a single question.

Sorry, but we're protective of real entrepreneurs who are doing stuff.

Too many cooks stealing from the chefs. And those cooks only care about "what do you sell?!?!" so they can quickly copy.

If that explanation upsets you, I'll be happy to delete your account.
 

MoneyDoc

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Welcome to the forums buddy. I'm also 22 with my own private label brands on amazon and off amazon. Not at $1 million in sales yet, but I'm not very far away.

Quick question - since you have retail experience, how would you recommend I approach this. Was contacted by 7-11 last year after I submitted a vendor application for them to carry my energy drink brand. Was contacted by the actual buyer responsible for beverages. He told us to send him samples, we did. We followed up with him after a couple of weeks of delivery of the samples. He said he liked the samples, they tasted good, looked good, etc. He then went on to asking about our pricing per can. We sent him all that information. He told us they will discuss it among themselves to figure out where to place our products, how to move on, etc. However, it's been a few months we haven't heard from him. Been sending him follow up emails constantly, no replies. No clue why he would suddenly go "cold" on us.

Thanks.
 

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No questions but welcome to the forum. Very impressive for a 22 year old (impressive at any age!) - I hope you stick around.
 

Scot

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I'm beginning to think this forum is a form of karma. Every time we get a great new user, a turd shows up. Every time a turd shows up, we get a great new user.

Welcome to the forum, phenomenal success thus far, just make sure you keep going forward.

You have a lot to teach, thank you for doing this AMA.

I know this forum will give back in spades.
 
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KSR

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I'm thinking this thread should be #notable -- despite all that crap up the top.

Do you think the FBA program is doable if you're not American and/or living in the US?
I've wanted to try my hand at it but I'm Australian and have some hesitations due to that fact.
 

Jmadd95OE

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How did your dad go from concept to production? Specifically how did he know the product was perfect before committing to a run and shipping it?

I have Walter's book so I know these steps but I just wanted to hear your take. Thank you for your thread!

It took 6 months for us to go to formulation to actual production. He formulated the products at home based on ingredients that he researched, then tried it on his patients, made a few changes to it, sent it to a formulation company, then we got a manufacturer.

He knew it was a perfect product because there had been research on the ingredients that we use in the product, and also he saw the results that he was getting with this patients!
 

Jmadd95OE

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I know he doesn't. No need to be rude about it. I don't need to know the process. I get the process. I'm interested in what he's selling. Maybe I want one? It's relatively inexpensive and he sells a lot. Maybe it's unique and cool. Not EVERYthing is about the money.

I know I know. Crazy idea. I'm genuinely interested. It doesn't make sense to me that he's selling it online, but can't talk about it. While it's not my business (literally). He posted it on a public forum. Don't see how it hurts to inquire.

Hey! Basically what you need to understand is Amazon FBA and business itself is a "dog eat dog" world. Going and telling everyone what your product is on an open forum opens yourself up to competition and counterfeit sellers (I have experienced this before).

The Product is only 10% of your business. The other 90% of business is marketing, execution, and creative ideas. Focusing on the product will not get you anywhere. Most fantastic products don't go anywhere.

That said thank you for your interest in my product.

If you want to know my product. I will send you an NDA you can sign it and you can ask anything you want.

DM me!
 
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Jmadd95OE

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Dude. It doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

The widget or industry DOESN'T MATTER.

The execution and the processes do.

Stop asking these types of questions lest you be labeled as someone trying to steal or reverse engineer the OP's product.
It's literally none of your business and not relevant to the thread. You are missing the forest because of all of the trees.

He doesn't owe you an answer to satisfy your curiosity. It doesn't matter what the product is.

Focus on process.

Thanks for the responses. Here was my response by the way. Still learning how the forum works so I think I'm posting my response twice but whatever

Hey! Basically what you need to understand is Amazon FBA and business itself is a "dog eat dog" world. Going and telling everyone what your product is on an open forum opens yourself up to competition and counterfeit sellers (I have experienced this before).

The Product is only 10% of your business. The other 90% of business is marketing, execution, and creative ideas. Focusing on the product will not get you anywhere. Most fantastic products don't go anywhere.

That said thank you for your interest in my product.

If you want to know my product. I will send you an NDA you can sign it and you can ask anything you want.

DM me!
 

Jmadd95OE

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have you done any paid ads on Instagram? Or did you just stick to facebook?

Yes I have done paid Instagram. Found some success... not as much as Facebook!
Welcome to the forums buddy. I'm also 22 with my own private label brands on amazon and off amazon. Not at $1 million in sales yet, but I'm not very far away.

Quick question - since you have retail experience, how would you recommend I approach this. Was contacted by 7-11 last year after I submitted a vendor application for them to carry my energy drink brand. Was contacted by the actual buyer responsible for beverages. He told us to send him samples, we did. We followed up with him after a couple of weeks of delivery of the samples. He said he liked the samples, they tasted good, looked good, etc. He then went on to asking about our pricing per can. We sent him all that information. He told us they will discuss it among themselves to figure out where to place our products, how to move on, etc. However, it's been a few months we haven't heard from him. Been sending him follow up emails constantly, no replies. No clue why he would suddenly go "cold" on us.

Thanks.

Awesome Job Man! 7/11 is a big player.

Do you have his phone number or his address to send a package?

Is this your first retail store that has approached you? What is your experience in this? Sending Pricing is usually where they fall off, so you always need to say that you are willing to negotiate.
 

Jmadd95OE

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No questions but welcome to the forum. Very impressive for a 22 year old (impressive at any age!) - I hope you stick around.

Thank you Fox!

I'm beginning to think this forum is a form of karma. Every time we get a great new user, a turd shows up. Every time a turd shows up, we get a great new user.

Welcome to the forum, phenomenal success thus far, just make sure you keep going forward.

You have a lot to teach, thank you for doing this AMA.

I know this forum will give back in spades.

Thanks Scot!
 
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Jmadd95OE

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I'm thinking this thread should be #notable -- despite all that crap up the top.

Do you think the FBA program is doable if you're not American and/or living in the US?
I've wanted to try my hand at it but I'm Australian and have some hesitations due to that fact.

Haha. Is this in the right thread??? I don't know how this forum works yet!
 

KSR

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Haha. Is this in the right thread??? I don't know how this forum works yet!

Haha yeah so basically making it notable means it's marked as a thread that you should read -- have you seen those threads that say 'Notable' or 'GOLD'? It means just that -- they're GOLD! Great content in there that you can learn from. This is one of them.

Notable is one step under GOLD (I believe? I'm pretty new here myself).
 

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I am not in ecommerce but I have always wondered the cash flow. I know you guys reinvest a lot. Do you mind explaining the typical profit/revenue breakdown and how much you reinvest or decide to take out? No personal details just like overall ball park figures - I don't want to know about your actual business. I am asking about the industry in general - what it takes to grow to this level and what usually gets put back in to keep growing.

So for example for a $10,000 website... (I do web sales)
- $2,000 - $3,000 sales commision
- $ 200 - 500 Design Costs
- $ 500 - 1000 Copywriter
---
$6,500 - 7,300 profit.

For $1,000,000 revenue in online sales whats your product / ads / profit mix? If this is too personal just leave it be but I am always curious what 1 million revenue in ecommerce actually means. Thanks.
 
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Thanks for the responses. Here was my response by the way. Still learning how the forum works so I think I'm posting my response twice but whatever

Hey! Basically what you need to understand is Amazon FBA and business itself is a "dog eat dog" world. Going and telling everyone what your product is on an open forum opens yourself up to competition and counterfeit sellers (I have experienced this before).

The Product is only 10% of your business. The other 90% of business is marketing, execution, and creative ideas. Focusing on the product will not get you anywhere. Most fantastic products don't go anywhere.

That said thank you for your interest in my product.

If you want to know my product. I will send you an NDA you can sign it and you can ask anything you want.

DM me!
I like this kid. I have no questions but welcome to the forum! Keep up the great work! :thumbsup:
 
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Nomadic

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This is awesome man. I'm 22 years old myself, and after being in University not too long ago, I know how hard that must've been to balance all of that out. Congrats! As far as Amazon, I'm on a little bit more of a beginner level than these guys. Lol I haven't quite found what I think is the right niche/product yet. What do you think the key is to finding something that is profitable while also sustainable and quality? Like you, I don't want to just get random products and make a buck and get out. I want to establish a brand that is known for quality.
 

Jmadd95OE

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I am not in ecommerce but I have always wondered the cash flow. I know you guys reinvest a lot. Do you mind explaining the typical profit/revenue breakdown and how much you reinvest or decide to take out? No personal details just like overall ball park figures - I don't want to know about your actual business. I am asking about the industry in general - what it takes to grow to this level and what usually gets put back in to keep growing.

So for example for a $10,000 website... (I do web sales)
- $2,000 - $3,000 sales commision
- $ 200 - 500 Design Costs
- $ 500 - 1000 Copywriter
---
$6,500 - 7,300 profit.

For $1,000,000 revenue in online sales whats your product / ads / profit mix? If this is too personal just leave it be but I am always curious what 1 million revenue in ecommerce actually means. Thanks.

Hey Fox,

Great Question. My first answer is it depends on what your goals are.

I want to build a 9 Figure Business so we put back all our profit. I'm also young so I don't have many expenses so I can take more risk.

Basically for us we spend 15-20% of our revenue on marketing. This is seen as highly aggressive marketing, but we are trying to actually take market share and not just be a niche brand.

Usually companies shoot for 5%.

What I can tell you is our main advertising channels are:
amazon ppc budget is 250/month
Facebook ads 250/month
Influencers/ Youtube ads/ Demos take up the rest of the budget. I don't have an exact number!

The advantages that we have is that we have a recurring business. Product is bought on a monthly basis (not a one time buy), so we can build a strong group of repeat customers that we can eventually cash in on, and not have to spend heavily on marketing.

In terms of Profit, it is something attainable on eccomerce, just know you will have to sacrifice growth. They don't go hand in hand.
 
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undertheradar

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Welcome to the forum! Thanks for already contributing so much value. I am in the process of launching a brand and this has helped a lot!
 

Greg R

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Why I'm the world would I want to steal his product? I'm in the lighting industry. If it's a good product I assume it's patented. If it's not, then that answer would suffice. Hey I don't wanna tell you because it's not patented it. Everyone's awfully uppety about a question.

Maybe it's past experience with members on the forum and it's warranted I don't know? I'm genuinely curious in what the guy is selling. If he can't answer he can't answer.

But... I suppose it's more fun for everyone to pile on.

You are completely missing the point. His product doesn't even matter. It's his process. Knowing what the product is will do nothing for you. Knowing his process will.
 

ZeroTo100

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Didn't see page 2.

Anyway, Thanks for doing this - super cool to hear about you and dad working together. I used to dig holes for my father haha. Wasn't as fun as you're having but I learned a lot. Don't care what your product is but I'm interested in your process for finding a supplier. I know that you mentioned you deal with a US manufacturer. That's smart! Did you use any sites to help in finding them?

Thanks kid
 
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magnificent

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Best way to get ranked is a giveaway. Make sure you don't ask for reviews. There are Facebook Groups and a bunch of services (viral launch, zonblast, etc.) that do this. I personally don't use giveaways anymore because my brand is established, but its the fastest way to get it ranked if you don't want to do the whole organic and ppc thing.

I'm looking at Viral Launch and Zonblast.

Do you have a preference?
 

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